Seatlte Police union response to assault charge against officer

The Seattle police officer who was videotaped kicking a 17-year-old boy last fall in a Belltown minimart has been charged with fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor, following a criminal investigation by the Washington State Patrol.

The suspect fled after an undercover drug buy went wrong, and an officer was assaulted. Officer James Lee found the teen at Joe’s Mart and kicked him multiple times.

The teen was charged with first-degree attempted robbery, but later acquitted in King County Superior Court. In February he filed a claim seeking $450,000 from the city, saying he was the victim of “unjustified and excessive force.”

“We understand that our police officers have a dangerous job,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement. “They are thus permitted the legal ability to use reasonable force in apprehending people suspected of having committed a crime.

“When the force used is not reasonable under the circumstances, the officer must be held accountable.”

In a statement, Seattle Police Officer’s Guild President Rich O’Neill said the charge is “rooted more in a desire to appease the “anti-police” vocal minority than it is in sound legal principles.”

O’Neill’s statement is below:

The Seattle Police Officer’s Guild vehemently disagrees with Seattle City Attorney Peter Holmes’ decision to file misdemeanor assault charges against Officer James Lee. Officer Lee engaged in no unlawful activity and the investigation contained no evidence to support such a charge. What the investigation did reveal is the following:

1. In an effort to combat the open air drug markets in our downtown area, Officer Lee was assigned to work in an undercover buy-bust operation.

2. Officer Lee was attempting to take a fleeing felony suspect into custody.

3. Officer Lee gave the suspect repeated verbal commands which were ignored.

4. Officer Lee used a takedown tactic taught to him at advanced police classes.

5. The suspect sustained no significant injury.

6. Officer Lee reported his use of force to a supervisor and completed all of the required Use of Force Reports as required by the SPD Manual.

7. Officer Lee’s use of force was captured on a store video.

8. That video was viewed by police supervisors, county prosecutors and a judge in an open court room. None of these individuals expressed any concern for the force used and not one of them filed a complaint against Officer Lee.

This decision sends a terrible message to not only police officers, but citizens and those individuals who choose to engage in illegal activities. For our officers the message is most alarming. This decision means that our officers will no longer be defended when they perform their assigned duties, use force to affect an arrest that does not result in significant injury to a suspect and then document their force as required.

For individuals who engage in on-going illegal activity there is also a message. You are supported if you flee from the police, ignore police verbal commands and then file a frivolous claim against the police department. With this decision you now become “the victim.”

This message tells our citizens who want to live and work in the downtown area and be free from the open air drug markets and roving gangs who victimize people; that our city will not support the very officers that you rely on to protect you!

The Seattle Police Office’s Guild fully expects that Officer Lee will be cleared of this charge. The charge is rooted more in a desire to appease the “anti-police” vocal minority than it is in sound legal principles.

The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild is the largest police labor union in the northwest and represents all sworn Seattle Police Officers and Sergeants which includes over 1250 members.